DigitalGovhttp://www.digitalgov.gov
find | learn | share | changeTue, 31 Mar 2015 17:40:37 +0000en-UShourly1http://wordpress.org/?v=4.0.1Trends on Tuesday: Smartphone Market Growth Makes Mobile-Friendly a Musthttp://www.digitalgov.gov/2015/03/31/trends-on-tuesday-smartphone-market-growth-makes-mobile-friendly-a-must/?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=trends-on-tuesday-smartphone-market-growth-makes-mobile-friendly-a-must
http://www.digitalgov.gov/2015/03/31/trends-on-tuesday-smartphone-market-growth-makes-mobile-friendly-a-must/#commentsTue, 31 Mar 2015 17:00:43 +0000https://www.digitalgov.gov/?p=259702ComScore reported last week that smartphones now make up a whopping 75% of the mobile market. That’s up from 65% just one year ago. This means three-quarters of Americans over the age of 13 now have smartphones, and they are accessing government services with them more and more. This is an undeniable fact because earlier this […]]]>

everythingpossible/iStock/Thinkstock

ComScore reported last week that smartphones now make up a whopping 75% of the mobile market. That’s up from 65% just one year ago. This means three-quarters of Americans over the age of 13 now have smartphones, and they are accessing government services with them more and more.

This is an undeniable fact because earlier this month the White House announced the Digital Analytics Dashboard. The announcement noted the importance of mobile-friendliness, stating that the Dashboard showed 33% of all traffic to federal sites over a 90-day period came from people using phones and tablets. Over the same period last year, the number was 24%. This number will grow, and the problem is that many federal digital properties are NOT mobile-friendly. In fact, mobile-unfriendliness was identified on specific properties listed on the Dashboard.

I said in January that mobile is always going to be a moving target, but if agencies don’t become mobile-friendly for today’s users, that target is going to be even harder to hit in the future.

]]>http://www.digitalgov.gov/2015/03/31/trends-on-tuesday-smartphone-market-growth-makes-mobile-friendly-a-must/feed/0Gather Your Agency’s Public Data with Let Me Get That Data for Youhttp://www.digitalgov.gov/2015/03/31/gather-your-agencys-public-data-with-let-me-get-that-data-for-you/?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=gather-your-agencys-public-data-with-let-me-get-that-data-for-you
http://www.digitalgov.gov/2015/03/31/gather-your-agencys-public-data-with-let-me-get-that-data-for-you/#commentsTue, 31 Mar 2015 14:38:06 +0000https://www.digitalgov.gov/?p=247802In case you missed it, U.S. Open Data recently launched a tool called: Let Me Get That Data For You (LMGTDY). The name is a play on the very funny Let Me Google That For You website. How LMGTDFY works Let Me Get That Data For You searches any website for data in machine-readable formats and […]]]>In case you missed it, U.S. Open Data recently launched a tool called: Let Me Get That Data For You (LMGTDY). The name is a play on the very funny Let Me Google That For You website.

How LMGTDFY works

Let Me Get That Data For You searches any website for data in machine-readable formats and provides a list. Here is U.S. Open Data’s background reasoning for creating this tool:

Then they have to read through all of the results, download all of the files, and create a spreadsheet that they can load into their repository. It’s a lot of work, and as a result it too often goes undone, resulting in a data repository that doesn’t actually contain all of that agency’s data.

Realizing that this was a common problem, we hired Silicon Valley Software Group to create a tool to automate the inventorying process. We worked with Dan Schultz and Ted Han, who created a system built on Django and Celery, using Microsoft’s great Bing Search API as its data source. The result is a free, installable tool, which produces a CSV file that lists all CSV, XML, JSON, XLS, XLSX, XML, and Shapefiles found on a given domain name.

]]>http://www.digitalgov.gov/2015/03/31/gather-your-agencys-public-data-with-let-me-get-that-data-for-you/feed/0On the Spot: Must-Have IFTTT Recipes for Governmenthttp://www.digitalgov.gov/2015/03/30/on-the-spot-must-have-ifttt-recipes-for-government/?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=on-the-spot-must-have-ifttt-recipes-for-government
http://www.digitalgov.gov/2015/03/30/on-the-spot-must-have-ifttt-recipes-for-government/#commentsMon, 30 Mar 2015 19:48:29 +0000https://www.digitalgov.gov/?p=260022Ever since we announced IFTTT was available for federal use, dozens of ideas have been shared for how program managers can use the tool to increase their productivity. I asked some API enthusiasts in the SocialGov community which of their favorite recipes were must-haves for all digital teams or for those new to the platform. First, […]]]>

First, for those not familiar with it, IFTTT (as in “If This Then That”) combines 166 channels like Twitter, Android and iOS Location, and RSS into “recipes” that can integrate government social media, data, location-based services, and the Internet of Things.

While the potential uses of government APIs for citizen use is getting explored through communities like ProgrammableWeb and our own If Gov Then That, for the purposes of this woman-and-man-on-the-spot question we focused on recipes that could be used internally for government. Each of these examples can and should be customized for your own program, so explore the space. Did we miss something? Let DigitalGov know in the comments section below or email me, and we’ll be sure to share.

Alerts

As a product manager, Leah Bannon of 18F needs to know when a customer or collaborator wants to take action. The 18F Dashboard, for instance, demonstrates the progress of their projects from Discovery > Alpha > Beta > Live, and invites people to get involved—Leah recommends establishing automatic alerts for programs like this that ensure your team is ready to meet them.

Archiving

Justin Herman of the SocialGov Program encourages teams to set up automatic archives of their posts, whether from social platforms like Twitter and Facebook, or blogs including WordPress. For example, you can create a recipe to automatically archive your posts to a service like Google Calendar that can be shared with your team, or more widely, in order to not only retain records but to visualize timing of content distribution.

Notifications

Melody Kramer of 18F has an eye on where the discussions are happening outside of government, and wants to make sure she’s informed. She recommends teams set up notifications that will automatically inform them when a URL from one of their digital properties is shared on another platform. This helps identify where the conversations are happening, so she can meet customers where they are.

Recruitment

Tim Lowden of the Digital Analytics Program knows that new positions in digital government are rising up across agencies. To help with professional development and recruitment, he recommends using IFTTT to help potential applicants get alerts when jobs matching specific criteria (such as the positions your department hires) are posted on USAJobs.

Performance

Eric Mill of 18F wants to build a recipe that notifies him when a new URL hits the real-time Top 20 list on the new analytics.usa.gov for the first time. The data from this dashboard provides a window into how people are interacting with the government online, and new additions to the Top 20 means a shift in trends that managers can use to understand the customer experience in government.

Honorable Mention: Silence That Phone in Meetings, People

]]>http://www.digitalgov.gov/2015/03/30/on-the-spot-must-have-ifttt-recipes-for-government/feed/0The Content Corner: Making Those Connectionshttp://www.digitalgov.gov/2015/03/30/the-content-corner-making-those-connections/?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=the-content-corner-making-those-connections
http://www.digitalgov.gov/2015/03/30/the-content-corner-making-those-connections/#commentsMon, 30 Mar 2015 14:00:27 +0000https://www.digitalgov.gov/?p=259282A (possibly infamous) blog post from last Friday and the discussion/debate that followed reminded me of several important points that we all may lose sight of during our hectic schedules. 1. Audience Determines the Message The first big item was that audience determines message; or more importantly, the best way to reach your audience may force […]]]>

A (possibly infamous) blog post from last Friday and the discussion/debate that followed reminded me of several important points that we all may lose sight of during our hectic schedules.

1. Audience Determines the Message

The first big item was that audience determines message; or more importantly, the best way to reach your audience may force you and your agency out of your comfort zone. Thankfully, it makes you embrace new—and at times—slightly scary technologies and helps you redefine what your concept of content is.

If the best way to achieve your communication goals with a particular audience is listicles covered with animated gifs or a mobile game or things that no one at your agency has heard of, then you need to adapt. You must research where your audience already is and then speak their language, even if it leaves you uneasy. But this cuts both ways, as the original blog post and subsequent news articles prove.

2. Content of Many Colors

Along with audience determining your message, your message can help determine how you communicate it. I’m regularly hammering the term “efficient” when it comes to content and that is very important when you are examining what would best do the job. Again, it’s about efficiency and not so much about comfort levels (and I’m talking about my comfort levels, too).

One great example of this that has gained popularity of late is the infographic. It’s fast and can quickly provide a ton of useful information to a user. Add animation (when you need to) and you have an even more effective communication tool.

As opposed to a video, if you have a brief segment without audio that you need to share, then use the animated gif. 18F has several great examples of this from their GitHub/Terminal tutorial.

3. Don’t Lose the Joy

This may be the biggest thing that smacked me in the face this week. The world we work and live in is fast-paced; many of us are constantly working to feed the beast along with juggling tons of other issues. It’s easy to lose sight of the bigger picture; it happens to everyone.

and I will keep writing about it, but every so often I need to go to Smithsonian’s Tumblr and remind myself how much fun this can and should be.

We have to always remember that our main mission is reaching out and building community and making people’s lives better. That’s a wonderful responsibility and we have so many exciting tools (with more popping up all the time) to play with and try and fail when needed. Animated gifs, kinetic infographics, live-streamed video: whatever it takes to make that connection, because that’s why we’re doing this. If you need to increase your comfort level with at least one of these visual platforms, then sign-up for Essentials of Animated Gifs for Government.

You’ve just finished reading the latest article from our Monday column, The Content Corner. This column focuses on helping solve the main content issues facing digital professionals, including producing enough content and making that content engaging.

]]>http://www.digitalgov.gov/2015/03/30/the-content-corner-making-those-connections/feed/1Empowerment, Innovation, and Improved Health Outcomes: the Blue Button Initiativehttp://www.digitalgov.gov/2015/03/27/empowerment-innovation-and-improved-health-outcomes-the-blue-button-initiative/?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=empowerment-innovation-and-improved-health-outcomes-the-blue-button-initiative
http://www.digitalgov.gov/2015/03/27/empowerment-innovation-and-improved-health-outcomes-the-blue-button-initiative/#commentsFri, 27 Mar 2015 14:00:40 +0000https://www.digitalgov.gov/?p=258792Finding and getting access to our own health information can be a complex process. And most of us don’t really think about having our health information readily accessible until we really need it – like in the event of an emergency, or when switching doctors or traveling. Combing through stacks of paperwork and contacting providers […]]]>

Slawomir Fajer/iStock/Thinkstock

Finding and getting access to our own health information can be a complex process. And most of us don’t really think about having our health information readily accessible until we really need it – like in the event of an emergency, or when switching doctors or traveling. Combing through stacks of paperwork and contacting providers is daunting for even the most organized among us. However, this familiar scenario is being reimagined.

The Blue Button Initiative is a partnership between the federal government and the healthcare industry focused on increasing individuals’ access to their health information electronically and in a format they can use and re-use. Increased transparency and easier access to information empowers people to make informed decisions about their health, care for their family members, share information with providers, and check their information for accuracy. The initiative is led by the Office of the National Coordinator for Health Information Technology (ONC) in the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS).

Data for Patient Education and Empowerment

The Blue Button Connector website educates people about all the various places where their health data may reside. Health records are maintained by a variety of organizations: health insurance companies, clinics, hospitals, pharmacies, labs, and immunization registries. Visitors to the Blue Button Connector website can search for an organization and be taken directly to the place where they can follow log-in directions to access their information.

Through the commitments from more than 600 organizations who have taken the Blue Button Pledge, the ONC team estimates that more than 150 million Americans have access to data from their healthcare providers, health insurance companies, labs, and/or pharmacies. The Blue Button symbolizes placing control of health data in patients’ hands, enabling the idea of ‘consumer empowerment’ to take on real and practical meaning.

Accessing and using one’s own health information is still a new concept for most Americans and the experience of gathering and aggregating health data is still burdensome, especially in rural and underserved communities.

Data for Innovation

Data flowing from institutions to consumers through Blue Button also serves as fuel for innovation. The Connector provides a listing of healthcare apps that are available to help people make use of their data. The Connector also provides entrepreneurs with transparency regarding what types of electronic health data are available and from where to stimulate the development of new products and services for consumers. The Connector is built on an open source API, with documentation available on the Blue Button website.

To support collaboration, agencies have adopted an open government approach, making detailed information, including Blue Button sample files, available to the public via Data.gov.

Looking to the Future

ONC and its federal partners have identified several future focus areas for Blue Button, as the initiative continues to build momentum:

Monitoring patient access to ensure the benefits are accruing to all

Identifying and removing any barriers to patients exercising their legal right to their health information in an electronic format if it is available that way

Continuing to conduct research to understand and improve the consumer experience of accessing and using digital health information

Continuing to get the word out about the importance of having access to health information and to encourage people to take action to gather their information

Demonstrating Blue Button’s impact on health outcomes, health costs, and other important indicators through community-led demonstrations

Previous research has already shown that Blue Button is seen as a valuable tool: 87% of respondents in a Veteran Affairs survey perceived that having access to Blue Button information was helpful to their care provider in making decisions about their care.

HHS is looking ahead at how new data sets, such as streams of data coming from “Internet of Things” connected devices, will lead to breakthroughs in personalized medicine, independent living for seniors, and more engaged consumers.

Consumer Health Information Exchange via APIs

Blue Button is supported by a portfolio of standards, including those developed by Health Level Seven International (HL7), a not-for-profit organization that develops standards for the exchange, integration, sharing, and retrieval of electronic health information. HL7’s Fast Healthcare Interoperability Resources (FHIR) create machine and human readable health standards that can be easily transported via secure Internet protocol over HTTPS (RESTful API).

“This public facing FHIR server will allow startups and enterprises to build innovative health software applications with our sample data sets that will output JSON/XML in FHIR specifications standards,” Sunthara said. “For developers, this is music to their ears when working with RESTful API’s using JSON data sets.”

Blue Button on FHIR

Mark Scrimshire, HHS Entrepreneur-in-Residence at the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS), is taking the FHIR Server code base developed by Sunthara and integrating it into a Blue Button on FHIR RESTful API data service for Medicare beneficiaries, using the MyMedicare website.

This work includes defining a CMS Blue Button structured data format in JSON and XML, which can be used by Blue Button on FHIR to enable beneficiaries to connect their CMS data to the applications and services they trust, such as third-party mobile applications. This work also supports the health data interoperability objectives in HHS’s Precision Medicine initiative.

If you’re interested in getting involved with Blue Button, FHIR, or any of ONC’s work to support patient engagement and innovation, contact the team on Twitter: Maya Uppaluru (@mayauppaluru), Simone Myrie (@myrietash), and Erin Siminerio (@epoetter).

]]>http://www.digitalgov.gov/2015/03/27/empowerment-innovation-and-improved-health-outcomes-the-blue-button-initiative/feed/0Booking a Discount Bus Ticket? Check Carrier Safety Records with QCMobilehttp://www.digitalgov.gov/2015/03/26/booking-a-discount-bus-ticket-check-carrier-safety-records-with-qcmobile/?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=booking-a-discount-bus-ticket-check-carrier-safety-records-with-qcmobile
http://www.digitalgov.gov/2015/03/26/booking-a-discount-bus-ticket-check-carrier-safety-records-with-qcmobile/#commentsThu, 26 Mar 2015 15:56:54 +0000https://www.digitalgov.gov/?p=259062The new app from the Department of Transportation’s Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration called “QCMobile” empowers U.S. motorists to make safety their highest priority on the roadways this spring. This is a continued theme in DOT’s mobile strategy, as they have also recently released the SaferRide app. QCMobile (QC stands for “Query Central”) is a free […]]]>The new app from the Department of Transportation’s Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration called “QCMobile” empowers U.S. motorists to make safety their highest priority on the roadways this spring. This is a continued theme in DOT’s mobile strategy, as they have also recently released the SaferRide app.

QCMobile (QC stands for “Query Central”) is a free download for anyone interested in reviewing the DOT registration and safety performance information of motor carriers.

The app gives users more convenient access to currently available online safety performance information for interstate truck and bus companies. This means access to information on crashes, safety rating, roadside out-of-service rates, and much more.

QCMobile is an especially valuable tool for law enforcement officers and commercial motor vehicle safety inspectors, as well as insurers, brokers, freight-forwarders and whoever just booked a discount bus ticket online.

No login is required to access safety performance information in the app. Just open the app and start searching for interstate truck and bus companies by name or by DOT or motor carrier number. Select the company you’re interested in, and the app reveals the federal operating status of the carrier, as well as a host of safety information and reports, including:

]]>http://www.digitalgov.gov/2015/03/26/booking-a-discount-bus-ticket-check-carrier-safety-records-with-qcmobile/feed/0The API Briefing: Free Federal Energy and Economic Information Delivered Straight to Your Spreadsheethttp://www.digitalgov.gov/2015/03/25/the-api-briefing-free-federal-energy-and-economic-information-delivered-straight-to-your-spreadsheet/?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=the-api-briefing-free-federal-energy-and-economic-information-delivered-straight-to-your-spreadsheet
http://www.digitalgov.gov/2015/03/25/the-api-briefing-free-federal-energy-and-economic-information-delivered-straight-to-your-spreadsheet/#commentsWed, 25 Mar 2015 15:10:59 +0000https://www.digitalgov.gov/?p=258292Back in November 2014, I wrote about the Federal Reserve of St. Louis’ FRED® (Federal Reserve Economic Data) API. A user can access 238,000 economic trends through FRED® through a website and mobile apps. What is unique about FRED® is that a user can pull economic data directly into an Excel spreadsheet. Now, the FRED® […]]]>

Gunnar Pippel/Hemera/Thinkstock

Back in November 2014, I wrote about the Federal Reserve of St. Louis’ FRED® (Federal Reserve Economic Data) API. A user can access 238,000 economic trends through FRED® through a website and mobile apps. What is unique about FRED® is that a user can pull economic data directly into an Excel spreadsheet.

Now, the FRED® Excel plugin is joined by the U.S. Energy Information Administration’s (EIA) Excel plugin. The tool, which launched on March 18, incorporates both energy data from the EIA API and economic data from FRED®. A user can then utilize Excel’s charting and analytic capabilities to present the data in charts and analyze connections between energy trends and economic trends. The data is easily updated by just clicking the “Get Data” button.

The EIA Excel plugin gives the user the following categories of energy data:

What I especially like about these plugins is that other applications can read Excel spreadsheets. Excel spreadsheets can be imported into Google Docs for easy sharing or into R for more sophisticated data analysis. Excel spreadsheets can be exported to any number of databases that support APIs. I hope that we can see more agencies with rich data sources build Excel or similar plugins.

(Microsoft Excel, Google Docs, and R are used for illustrative purposes and does not imply an endorsement by the federal government)

*API – Application Programming Interface; how software programs and databases share data and functions with each other. Check out APIs in Government for more information.

Each week, “The API Briefing” will showcase government APIs and the latest API news and trends. Visit this column every week to learn how government APIs are transforming government and improving government services for the American people. If you have ideas for a topic or have questions about APIs, please contact me via email. All opinions are my own and do not reflect the opinions of the USDA and GSA.

]]>http://www.digitalgov.gov/2015/03/25/the-api-briefing-free-federal-energy-and-economic-information-delivered-straight-to-your-spreadsheet/feed/0HTTP vs HTTPS: Is it Time For a Change?http://www.digitalgov.gov/2015/03/25/http-vs-https-is-it-time-for-a-change/?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=http-vs-https-is-it-time-for-a-change
http://www.digitalgov.gov/2015/03/25/http-vs-https-is-it-time-for-a-change/#commentsWed, 25 Mar 2015 14:00:43 +0000https://www.digitalgov.gov/?p=253692Data. Security. Privacy. These are the cornerstones of many discussions concerning technology. The security of citizen information when interacting with the federal government will be increasingly important as we progress into the future. A few agencies have begun to use Hyper Text Transfer Protocol Secure (HTTPS) in lieu of the standard HTTP. For these agencies, […]]]>

KeremYucel/iStock/Thinkstock

Data. Security. Privacy.

These are the cornerstones of many discussions concerning technology. The security of citizen information when interacting with the federal government will be increasingly important as we progress into the future.

A few agencies have begun to use Hyper Text Transfer Protocol Secure (HTTPS) in lieu of the standard HTTP. For these agencies, this transition to HTTPS is seen as a step in the right direction and is one way for the government to address the security of citizen information. For others, the transition to HTTPS is seen as something that would require additional maintenance and is unnecessary, especially for websites that do not deal with sensitive or personally identifiable information (PII).

Argument For HTTPS

On one side of the argument, protecting all websites with HTTPS is seen as a necessary step because having security is imperative, despite the additional workload. Joseph Wicentowski, Digital History Advisor in the Bureau of Public Affairs at the Department of State, believes that the use of HTTPS is important for all government websites.

“I would argue that offering HTTPS connections on all pages is particularly important for government sites,” Wicentowski said. “Some may argue that the SSL encryption is only necessary for password-protected portions of websites. But, SSL [provides an extra level of security] and prevents any 3rd party from seeing, recording, or tampering with the content of the user’s session. By offering HTTPS, we allow our security-cognizant users to be 100% confident that no attacker is monitoring or tampering with the contents of their session.”

Another interesting point in the debate is that Google has begun using HTTPS as a ranking signal. In other words, websites that are using the HTTPS protocol are appearing higher on the list of search results.

HTTPS provides a secure, fast and private connection between the user and the website, but there are a few considerations for agencies to ponder before taking the plunge. For some, the full scale implementation of HTTPS is seen as a possible solution for security challenges, but it has a few drawbacks that should be considered when making the decision.

Argument Against HTTPS

On the other end of the argument, there is the belief that not every website needs HTTPS because not every agency deals with the transmission of sensitive information or PII. Some believe that HTTPS is an option, but you must consider things like certificate maintenance before making the decision.

When the question of HTTP vs HTTPS was posed to agencies via the Content Managers Listserv, a few of the responses hinted at the difficulty and extra costs in terms of time and resources that would be needed for an extra level of encryption.

nicolasboivin/iStock/Thinkstock

SSL certificates are files that encrypt the connection from a web server to a web browser. Certificate maintenance requires the installation, configuration and rotation of SSL certificates to ensure that a website’s information is encrypted and up to date. The management of these certificates has high operational costs.

In terms of performance, an additional level of encryption requires more server resources because each visitor must connect to the server in order to exchange the information required to establish a secure connection. Compared to the loading time of a page with HTTP, this process of exchanging information can take a little more time, especially if the server is dealing with multiple visitors at once.

With these extra costs, such as certificate maintenance and a slight decrease in site performance, one must consider if the extra level of encryption is worth implementing.

In this article, we have only began to delve into the debate about the subject of HTTP vs HTTPS. For our next piece on the topic, we will share an agency’s full scale implementation of HTTPS. We will highlight some other issues in this debate, including but not limited to website performance, privacy, security, and hardware.

Do you believe that is it time for a full-scale implementation of HTTPS despite the considerations listed above? Are those considerations just a small cost in the bigger picture of ensuring privacy?

The White House is soliciting feedback from agencies on the topic of a full scale HTTPS implementation until March 31st. Visit the site and share your thoughts!

]]>http://www.digitalgov.gov/2015/03/25/http-vs-https-is-it-time-for-a-change/feed/0Trends on Tuesday: Big Data Equals Big Challengeshttp://www.digitalgov.gov/2015/03/24/trends-on-tuesday-big-data-equals-big-challenges/?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=trends-on-tuesday-big-data-equals-big-challenges
http://www.digitalgov.gov/2015/03/24/trends-on-tuesday-big-data-equals-big-challenges/#commentsTue, 24 Mar 2015 17:59:04 +0000https://www.digitalgov.gov/?p=258782According to an article from Readwrite, the amount of money going to big data projects is steadily increasing despite widespread failure to achieve many results. For big data-related projects in global organizations, a total of $31 billion was spent in 2013 and that amount is expected to top $114 billion by 2018. The recognition that […]]]>

SamStyles/iStock/Thinkstock

According to an article from Readwrite, the amount of money going to big data projects is steadily increasing despite widespread failure to achieve many results. For big data-related projects in global organizations, a total of $31 billion was spent in 2013 and that amount is expected to top $114 billion by 2018. The recognition that big data is important is present, but the results from big data projects have not illustrated this to the full extent. Here are a few challenges organizations are having when it comes to big data:

Data is separate from workflow. One challenge is that many organizations have not fully integrated data into their work processes. Capgemini conducted a survey (PDF) and found that 79% of enterprises haven’t completely integrated data sources from across their organizations.

Data management. Another challenge is the idea of data management. Within organizations, is your data being managed or is it managing you? The best analogy that comes to mind would be that of comparing a lake to a reservoir. Is your data easily portable or not portable? Is your data filtered or raw?

Privacy. An additional challenge is the issue of privacy. The government could do more with big data, but has to be wary about the issues of sharing information and the challenges that come with it, especially, with Personally Identifiable Information (PII). Even with the collection of non-PII, there is still a concern of the federal government acting like “Big Brother.” The public may not be open to the idea of agencies sharing information despite the fact that it could lead to a more efficient, collaborative and open government.

Multiple data sources. The use of big data usually elicits actions that require cross-collaboration across teams, functional areas and agencies. When data comes from multiple sources, the collection and analysis of the data becomes more difficult due to things such as differences in how data is used and collected.

Patricia Schmidt/iStock/Thinkstock

Despite all the challenges above, there are some agencies that have successfully taken on big data projects. According to a study conducted on big data projects in the federal government, the agencies that are most successful are described as being active collaborators, having an automated and integrated data workflow, and using data to guide decision making.

These are just a few of the challenges and characteristics that are associated with big data. Do you know of any others? If so, please share below and comment.

]]>http://www.digitalgov.gov/2015/03/24/trends-on-tuesday-big-data-equals-big-challenges/feed/0Usability Design for Kids: Things Federal Workers Should Knowhttp://www.digitalgov.gov/2015/03/24/usability-design-for-kids-things-federal-workers-should-know/?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=usability-design-for-kids-things-federal-workers-should-know
http://www.digitalgov.gov/2015/03/24/usability-design-for-kids-things-federal-workers-should-know/#commentsTue, 24 Mar 2015 14:00:50 +0000https://www.digitalgov.gov/?p=253972I used to teach 8th grade science in inner city Denver in the 1990s. After that, I supported special education students and their teachers in North Carolina. Around that time (mid-late 1990s), the Internet wasn’t really designed for kids –most of the electronic materials I came across for the classroom were on CDs and such. […]]]>

I used to teach 8th grade science in inner city Denver in the 1990s. After that, I supported special education students and their teachers in North Carolina. Around that time (mid-late 1990s), the Internet wasn’t really designed for kids –most of the electronic materials I came across for the classroom were on CDs and such.

After learning more about design, Information Architecture, and now user experience, I began to realize that while digital services for kids looked really good on the outside, on the inside they were awful. Scope/feature creep is very, very likely since there is always the temptation to “just add THIS function.”

1. Who are you REALLY designing for?

While it may be convenient to group things as “K-12,” think about the differences in maturity levels for a second. What is “cool” to one group is going to be “really lame little kid stuff” to another. If you are designing a site like a library, it can be tough: look at this kids’ library site vs. this gov site vs. this educational site.

So, remember, WHO are you designing for? Think about the content and message you are trying to put out there, who you are trying to reach, and what you want them to do with it when they find it. Remember: kids are different. Well, duh, right? Well, I mean really different. Depending on what you are designing, it will be seen by many unique points of view. “Know thy user,” right? Well, who are you designing for? Students? Parents? Teachers?

The first major project I was involved with was really enlightening (and I should have seen this coming, in retrospect): the content was more or less dictated to the users by college professors (!), which is fine if you are in grad school, but not if you are in middle school.

2. Use their language, not yours

As I’m sure any parent or teacher can tell you, the best way to make a kid tune you out, is to “not speak kid.” Don’t bore or impress them with “adult speak.” Run things through a kid filter, and test your test with other kids first. They’ll give you honest feedback (they always do).

3. Co-create your test

Testing government content with children might be a challenge because we are the government, which is not really “sought after information” if you are a kid. Which comes to point #3: enlist professionals to help you.

The best way to set up design and evaluation opportunities is to involve the people who are involved, right? So, Parent Teacher Organizations and school listservs are a good place to start to ask for help. Important: ask permission to post first.

And of course –actively involve educators in the process. They will give you their impressions, and may help you get access and testers (kids). They will also be able to validate your task list and usability evaluation metrics.

As far as compensation, books,movie vouchers, and iStore gift cards may work. Just make sure it’s not “lame.” Again, ask the teachers what the kids are interested in – they will probably know better than the parents.

4. Get pros to help

Getting a good mediator is really crucial. Having someone who “speaks kid” is really, REALLY important here. You obviously want to build a feeling of rapport with the person doing the evaluation. While I know it’s easy to talk down to kids, this will often backfire. Badly. Again, my experience is mostly with middle school kids, but no kid wants to be treated like a little kid (unless they ARE a little kid), but they may not be able to handle being spoken to like they are in college either. Ask an educator. Ask many. Ask often.

5. Think accessibility

The issue with content only gets trickier when you involve cognitive issues – difficulties some kids have in processing information. There is Section 504, for example. So when you’re thinking usability testing, think accessibility testing as well.

6. Give even more time for Paperwork Reduction Act

The most crucial thing is to get your Paperwork Reduction Act request in order ASAP. These groups usually take a really long time, but they take even longer when minors are involved. Be warned.

Justin Dopke is an IT Specialist with the Social Security Administration.